The present invention concerns a device for adjusting a fuse without actually touching it in the tip of a large-caliber projectile, wherein the device is provided with a programming station that has an annular or cylindrical programming coil mounted on it coaxially with the longitudinal axis of the resting projectile and communicating with electric controls, the tip of the projectile extending into the coil at least while the fuse is being adjusted.
Armored howitzers are described in European Patent 0 331 980 B1 and German Patent 2 642 920 C2 for example. A mechanism automatically transfers their projectiles from a magazine to the rear of the weapon. The fuse must be automatically adjusted at a prescribed point along this route prior to ramming, conventionally by a programming coil connected to electric controls while the tip of the projectile extends into the coil. The projectiles are usually deposited in a tilting tray with the programming station at one end. It is, however, not easy to ensure that the tips come to rest precisely inside the coil when the fuses of several projectiles of different lengths are being adjusted. Furthermore, delicate fuses can be damaged when the projectiles are thrust into the coil at high speeds and braked therein.